Effectiveness of Reading-Strategy Interventions in Whole Classrooms: a Meta-Analysis

Effectiveness of Interventions that Foster Reading Motivation: a Meta-analysis

Many students have low reading motivation. Based on (reading) motivation theories, several mechanisms are distinguished that can foster reading motivation. Our goal in this meta-analysis was to examine the effects of theory-driven reading motivation interventions in school on students’ reading motivation and reading comprehension as well as to test which mechanisms are particularly effective in fostering motivation and comprehension. We conducted a literature search in ten online databases and identified 39 relevant effect studies. Positive effects on affirming motivations (d = 0.38), extrinsic motivations (d = 0.42), combined motivations (d = 0.17), and reading comprehension (d = 0.27) were found. The effect on undermining motivations (d = −0.01) was not significant. In particular, interventions that aimed to trigger interest had positive effects on affirming motivations and reading comprehension. Furthermore, effects on affirming motivations were larger if the total duration of the intervention was longer and if the share of boys in the sample was higher. Interventions delivered by researchers had larger effects on reading comprehension than interventions delivered by teachers. Finally, effects on reading comprehension were larger for primary schoolers than for secondary schoolers and larger for typical readers than for struggling readers. Implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers are discussed.

Are Reading Interventions Effective for At-Risk Readers with ADHD? A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Utilizing a multi-level meta-analytic approach, this review is the first to systematically quantify the efficacy of reading interventions for school-aged children with ADHD and identify potential factors that may increase the success of reading-related interventions for these children.

METHOD

18 studies (15 peer-reviewed articles, 3 dissertations) published from 1986 to 2020 (N = 564) were meta-analyzed.

RESULTS

Findings revealed reading interventions are highly effective for improving reading skills based on both study-developed/curriculum-based measures (g = 1.91) and standardized/norm-referenced achievement tests (g = 1.11) in high-quality studies of children with rigorously-diagnosed ADHD. Reading interventions that include at least 30 hours of intervention targeting decoding/phonemic awareness meet all benchmarks to be considered a Level 1 (Well-Established) Evidence-Based Practice with Strong Research Support for children with ADHD based on clinical and special education criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings collectively indicate that reading interventions should be the first-line treatment for reading difficulties among at-risk readers with ADHD.

Differential effects and success stories of distance education in Covid-19 lockdowns on the development of reading comprehension in primary schools

In the current study, the development in reading comprehension performance of students in lower-SES versus higher-SES schools during and after school closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns was examined, and compared to a normed reference group. Furthermore, we explored protective factors against negative effects at the time of school closures, by pinpointing successful practices in a sub sample of resilient lower-SES schools. The total sample consisted of 2202 students followed from grade 2-4. Overall, we found that students in lower-SES schools made less progress over time than students in higher-SES schools. On average, students made less progress during the lockdowns, but here, the interaction with SES was not significant. Students' reading comprehension levels partially recovered after the lockdowns. Questionnaire-data revealed that schools were better prepared during the second lockdown, with teachers making more use of digital means, and providing more online reading instruction. In addition, collaboration with the parents seemed to have improved. The in depth interviews with resilient lower-SES schools revealed that the introduction of online education and investing in educational partnerships with parents may have helped to minimize the negative impact of lockdowns. We conclude that lockdowns have a negative effect on the development of reading education, but that students are resilient. Digital means and partnership with parents may be seen as protective factors to attenuate the negative effects of emergency remote teaching.

The effect of audio-support on strategy, time, and performance on reading comprehension in secondary school students with dyslexia

The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers' attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts' reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

Meta-analyses as a privileged information source for informing teachers' practice?

Abstract. Inspired by evidence-based medicine, many researchers in the field of learning and instruction assume that meta-analyses are the best scientific information source to inform teachers' practice. This position is evaluated critically. For this purpose, I first clarify my fundamental assumptions about employing evidence for educational practice, as they form the basis for later argumentations (e.g., scientific evidence is just one of several important information sources for teachers). Then, the numerous disadvantages of meta-analyses as an information source for teachers are outlined (e.g., piecemeal information, partly inconsistent information) and, on this basis, I argue that they should not be considered a privileged source. Theories (including instructional models) provide some key advantages (e.g., coherent information) so that they should be seen as a prime information source. Nevertheless, theories also have some disadvantages so that teachers might be best advised to rely on multiple sources, and integrate them when trying to improve their practice. Finally, potential objections to theories as privileged information source are discussed.

Using Machine Learning Approaches to Explore Non-Cognitive Variables Influencing Reading Proficiency in English among Filipino Learners

Filipino students ranked last in reading proficiency among all countries/territories in the PISA 2018, with only 19% meeting the minimum (Level 2) standard. It is imperative to understand the range of factors that contribute to low reading proficiency, specifically variables that can be the target of interventions to help students with poor reading proficiency. We used machine learning approaches, specifically binary classification methods, to identify the variables that best predict low (Level 1b and lower) vs. higher (Level 1a or better) reading proficiency using the Philippine PISA data from a nationally representative sample of 15-year-old students. Several binary classification methods were applied, and the best classification model was derived using support vector machines (SVM), with 81.2% average test accuracy. The 20 variables with the highest impact in the model were identified and interpreted using a socioecological perspective of development and learning. These variables included students’ home-related resources and socioeconomic constraints, learning motivation and mindsets, classroom reading experiences with teachers, reading self-beliefs, attitudes, and experiences, and social experiences in the school environment. The results were discussed with reference to the need for a systems perspective to addresses poor proficiency, requiring interconnected interventions that go beyond students’ classroom reading.